WATCH: BE GOOD - 'Donuts'

Good news alert! Oxford (via Berlin, nowadays) sweethearts BE GOOD are back with an absolute banger. In the kinda, indie bedroom-pop sense of the word, of course. I've loved these guys an obscene amount since I lived in Oxford and Donuts is their first new track since last April. No pressure then... Luckily, it's a beaut. Obviously. It's late, and I'm struggling to formulate words to just tell you how much I love this band: I'll let the music speak for itself.

The good news keeps coming: if you like what you're hearing here (and why wouldn't you?!) you're in luck, as BE GOOD headline The Lexington in a few weeks, on 16th November. See you at the front? Tickets available here.

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LISTEN: BE GOOD - 'Crying in the Bathroom'

New BE GOOD, everybody!!!!! You all know by now just how much I adore these guys. They're back with their first new track for a while, Crying in the Bathroom. While I might be doing just that thinking about missing their Oxford gig with Cj Pandit and The Bobo next week for Divine Schism, I'm currently just likely to cry about how great they are. In their words, the new track is "a song about perspective shifts, unhealthy obsessions & callousness. First time we've used a banjo, unlikely to be the last." Slow bop. 

BE GOOD play London this Friday (15th) and Oxford next Tuesday (19th) - tickets for both here. 

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WATCH: Lacuna Common - 'Window Pane'

As the creator of a blog that very much found its feet within the Oxford scene, I'll always take an opportunity to shout about a new band in the city doing brilliant things, so I'm pretty excited to share this track. Window Pane is the latest tune from Lacuna Common, a four-piece band from the Oxford area. Meeting as teenagers in the surrounding satellite towns, they bonded over their mutual love of classic British guitar music and road racing, and formed the band after a weekend at Truck Festival. A few singles in, this new track is taken from their upcoming EP It's All Talk, due for release this May. In true collaborative Oxford music-scene style, the superb video is directed by BE GOOD frontman Ash Cooke. 

Talking about the track, lead singer Alfie Frank shares: "It's a song about the feeling of that 'normal life' - cleaning your car on a Sunday, keeping up appearances with your neighbours, doing the same routine week in week out, dreaming about ways your life could be different. You can see it isn't for you and that you don't want to end up like everybody else. There's also a sense of knowing that the likelihood of this happening is very high and that it's not at all a bad thing. After all, there's still something cool in finding the romance in going shopping and locking eyes with a beautiful girl/boy and wondering what would come if you spoke to each other."

On the video, Ash Cooke writes: "In this video we wanted to explore the mundane and repetitive loops of life. Almost like Groundhog Day in a British town. We wanted to show Alfie gradually breaking out of those loops and that gave us the chance to just have fun doing stupid stuff. I've wanted to throw oranges at Alfie for a long time, so this project was a dream come true for me." 

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WATCH: BE GOOD - 'Young Strangers'

Kicking off the year gloriously, my loves BE GOOD sprung an EP on us last week. Tis glorious. Obviously. Everything's Alright In The Evening is easily my most listened to ~thing~ of the year so far. It features a couple of certified tunes that were already out in the world - Cathy, Sickie and Dark Glasses - alongside Torch Song which they shared a demo version of on a Divine Schism compilation last year. Divine indeed. Brand new tracks Pink Sky (Can I Tell You Something) and Young Strangers are both superb, and they've just shared a video for the latter, the opening track of the EP, which you can watch below. 

Filmed in the Oxford suburbs, the video is directed by Joe Vozza and was worked on by the band and a bunch of their pals from the area. Lovely stuff! You probably already know this if you're on the blog/follow me online but I adore this band and their output, and this is no exception. Sending all of the positive BE GOOD vibes into your lives & your speakers. 

Stream or grab a copy of the new EP here (bandcamp, bandcamp, bandcamp!) 

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WATCH: BE GOOD - 'Dark Glasses'

"if there's someone out there could you make some kind of signal..."

As I usually work on Fridays, I can't help but feel a huge sense of impending doom (or is it just sleepiness) if I stay up late enough to listen to new tracks on a Thursday night. A week off last week meant getting to wait up for the new Dawes record once it was released - but not before having a little cry along to the new BE GOOD tune at midnight. I've mentioned more than enough times how much I adore this band, but really - how good is this new track?! That vocal effect at the end. Aaaah. Mixed and mastered by Kevin Tuffy and Gethin Pearson  - also really digging the video and those little snippets of central Oxford.

Over to frontman Ash Cooke with some words on the new track - "the words 'Dark Glasses' popped up a lot in the Patrick Melrose novels that I was reading during summer, and was definitely in my mind when we began writing this song which attempts to explore different ways we obscure ourselves in plain sight. For the artwork, we reached out to a photographer in LA (Jeremy Thomas Bryant) who had taken an oddly beautiful photo of a car full of rubbish. It somehow felt appropriate to the idea of the piling up of words and thoughts that we don't know how to share with other people."  

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LISTEN: BE GOOD - 'Cathy'

I'll sit here gathering dust, just wondering... do you get lonely? Cos I do. 

I'd like to think that it's no secret that I completely adore BE GOOD. For those of you who don't know, they're an Oxford-based four-piece making dreamy pop tunes, and they're one of the best bands in existence (proven fact, that.) One of my favourite discoveries made via a submission to the blog in 2017 - the blog and the band have in a way grown up together for the past few years. The last few months have brought some lovely tunes and content from the band, who have just shared Cathy, the first track they wrote in lockdown. Frontman Ash Cooke was kind enough to take some time to send over quotes about the track... I'll let you read those and stop flailing about how brilliant this band is. (But they are!)

Lyrically, he explains that "the song is an imagined conversation with someone who I was separated from during lockdown. I found myself blaming her for some of the negative things I was feeling, but I realised I was being ridiculous so I included her response in the second verse. In that verse she reminds me of everything she's done for me and urges me to figure myself out before lashing out at others."

"Some of the ideas for 'Cathy' had been floating around for a little while, but when we first went into lockdown it was one of the first things we recorded and it came together pretty quickly. We played a gig with Sansha in Peckham a while ago and loved her songs and her voice, so we asked her to remotely record some backing vocals and she absolutely nailed it."

"For the lyric video we went to Hinksey Lake in Oxford at sunset. There's a train track on the other side of the lake and we were crossing our fingers that a train would go past while we were shooting. Luckily enough it happened on the first and only take. We shot another version of the video where I jumped into the freezing cold water at 5am but I doubt it'll ever see the light of day."

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LISTEN: BE GOOD - Sickie (Piano Version)

You know, I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned how much I love BE GOOD here... alright, maybe once or twice.

One of my last few gigs for the foreseeable (boo) was the ever wonderful Willie J Healey at my favourite venue OMEARA back in November, with support from the BE GOOD guys. After years of adoring them, it was my first time seeing them live and they were as superb as expected, and meeting them was dreamy too, they're lovely chaps.

They've got some new (ish) music out, with a quarantine video showing vocalist Ash Cooke performing a piano version of 2019 single Sickie while bandmates Charlie, James and Patrick get on with some slightly less musical quarantine activities. Loving the cats, particularly.

There's a lovely recorded version up on Spotify and the like now too... you can hear it on the 2020 CMAT playlist, if you wish.

BE GOOD · Sickie (Midnight Piano Version)

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LISTEN: BE GOOD - 'Reflection of the Moon'

Alright, it's not *all* bad. There's a new BE GOOD track in our lives, for a start. Bloody love these guys. They're one of my favourite new(ish) bands and there is something very comforting about having new music from them. Reflection of the Moon is currently sitting at the top of my 2020 playlist, alongside new tracks from the likes of Dizzy, Liz Lawrence, Spector and more - listen & follow here.

Aaaand back to BE GOOD. The new track is poignant for the situation we find ourselves in, though it was written just before people started to self-isolate. In a chat with tmrw (read their full post here) vocalist Ash describes the song as celebrating "the peace that can be found in small everyday moments [...] Mundane domestic activities can bring a certain sense of comfort, especially when everything else feels so out of control. We wanted to make glossy and celebratory music out of that little feeling. This song was written before everyone was self-isolating, but since we started having to spend all our time indoors, some of the themes in the song took on a new resonance."

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LISTEN: BE GOOD - 'Sickie'

If you know anything about this blog or the music nerd behind it, you'll know that I have quite a bit of love for Oxford band BE GOOD. They came into my life just after I moved out of Oxford but I've loved getting to know them through their releases for the last couple of years as they've released tune after tune with the likes of Nightbus and It's Cool But It Ain't You. Earlier in the year, they shared their debut EP God Of Nowhere and started to really break through with features on various playlists. Sickie is their first release since the EP - it's typically BE GOOD, melancholic and nostalgic as slick music wraps around lead singer Ash Cooke's distinct and vulnerable vocals.

Discussing the track, Ash explains that it "takes a look at a few small vignettes from past relationships, and contrasts those with imaginary moments of a future that never happened. Sometimes you can get so wrapped up in waiting for a particular version of your life to materialise that you don't realise everything was changing anyway, without you." 

They're currently on tour across the UK with fellow Oxford musical legend Willie J Healey (who just released a cracking new EP) with shows in Southampton (Joiners on Weds) and London (Omeara on Thurs) still to come, before their triumphant hometown return to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre on 29th Nov for Divine Schism.

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TOUR NEWS: Willie J Healey and BE GOOD (Nov 2019)

This post is being shared while I'm on my way to Oxford for the first time in just over two years (for those who haven't read me rambling about this in the past, I studied there from 2014-2017 and miss it terribly) and what a perfect topic to discuss... Oxford indie hero Willie J Healey has shared news of his Hello Good Morning tour this November. Exciting enough news but made a billion times better with the fact that fellow Oxford chaps BE GOOD are joining him on tour. I've loved them for a long time but still haven't managed to catch them live so I am thrilled by this news!! Especially the fact that the London show is in the gorgeous setting of Omeara. Listen to WJ's new track Songs For Joanna below...

Grab tour tickets here, dates below!

6th Nov: King Tut's, Glasgow
7th: Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
8th: Leadmill, Sheffield
9th: Yes, Manchester
13th: Bodega, Nottingham
14th: Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
15th: Patterns, Brighton
16th: Castle & Falcon, Birmingham
20th: Joiners, Southampton
21st: Omeara, London

Follow Willie J Healey - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram. 

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LISTEN: BE GOOD - 'God Of Nowhere' EP

I really really really love this band. Oxford quartet BE GOOD have today shared their God Of Nowhere EP. As silky smooth as ever in the lyrics, vocals and sounds, the EP features brand new track Cape Of Night alongside five (ace) previously released tracks from the last couple of years, bringing together their best work so far (all of it?) into a gorgeous release. A favourite for me has to be It's Cool But It Ain't You - I adore that song.



The opening track of the EP, its centre piece is the band's debut track Not Waking Up, originally released just over two years ago. The track has been given a new video featuring band members Ash Cooke (vocals, guitar), Charlie Clarke (drums), James Cunning (synths) and Patrick Burley (bass).

Talking of the track, Ash describes it as being "about the time I woke up on New Year's Day covered in soot because I'd slept in a fireplace at a house party - the prick who was having the party wouldn't let me sleep anywhere else. Crawling out of the fireplace the next day felt strangely like a rebirth [...] in the end the track ended up touching on themes of disconnection and renewal, but you can really just take it as a groggy party anthem for the sleep-deprived." 

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WATCH: BE GOOD - 'God Of Nowhere'

Happy Friday! I've got a total musical and visual treat for you today, in the shape of God Of Nowhere from BE GOOD. Though I still haven't managed to catch the band live, they remain one of my  absolute favourite new(ish) bands on the Oxford scene alongside the likes of Catgod, Little Brother Eli, Lucy Leave and Low Island. Vocalist Ash Cooke met drummer Charlie Clarke at a ceramics club, bonding over nights listening to rap music in a South East London flat - they relocated to Ash's hometown of Oxford, joining forces with James Cunning (synths) and Patrick Burley (bass) to start a band as a response to suburban boredom (somewhat resembling the origin of Dizzy.)

I'm loving the new track and its brilliant - if fairly bizarre - video, directed and edited by Theo Watkins. A typically smooth offering from the band, vocalist Ash Cooke's gorgeous vocals sit atop a blend of indie and R&B elements. It's difficult to decide if I'd rather dance or fall asleep to the track. A bit of both? (Also - I'd quite like one of those denim jackets from the video. Just saying.)

Lyrically, the track delves into the idea that the person you have fallen for might not be quite as perfect as you thought. Ash describes that "it's about that moment in a relationship after the initial excitement when you realise that the other person is a fallible, imperfect human just like you are", adding "I think we should be less scared to let go of the things we idolise."

You can catch BE GOOD playing live at the following shows...

30th May - Truck Store, Oxford (instore)
31st May - The Social, London
12th June - Green Door Store, Brighton (w/ Sunset Rollercoaster)
13th June - The Bullingdon, Oxford

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LISTEN: BE GOOD - 'Moving Staircase'

Firstly I wanted to say a big thank you to everybody who's read my previous post on my current situation, losing my job at HMV and campaigning to get our store re-opened. All the support I received off the back of that was incredible - it very quickly became my second most viewed post on the blog, and meant I had the most views I've ever had in a day by quite a margin. Pretty crazy. We've since been interviewed for our local BBC News programme (which was terrifying) and set up a petition that has reached 1000 signatures in a few days among all sorts of other brilliant things including a really sweet share from my faves Public Service Broadcasting. It's all rather overwhelming but we're crossing our fingers!

Here's a bit of brilliant news within all of the craziness - Oxford's BE GOOD are back! I've loved these guys since they released Not Waking Up, and It's Cool But It Ain't You was one of my absolute favourite releases of 2017. They're by far one of my favourite bands in Oxford, flying the flag for what is an absolutely glorious music scene that I miss terribly.

The band deliver another slice of indie pop goodness with Ash Cooke's lead vocals as dreamy as ever.  In a piece in DIY mag, Ash details that the song is "in some way about acceptance [...] It's exploring a feeling that I was having that it was okay to not be the only person in someone's life, as long as I could feel like I was the most important one. It was an attempt at stoicism that was inevitably laced with typical human selfishness." Get listening!

If you're on Spotify - the track is featuring on the 2019: cool music and things playlist there which you should most certainly follow for my favourite tracks through the year!

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LISTEN: Tracks of the year playlist!

What a year for new music! With new albums from big favourites of mine Everything Everything and Public Service Broadcasting, debuts from Flyte and Willie J Healey and a bunch of other brilliant EPs and singles in between, there's been a lot to enjoy across the year. I've whittled down my favourite releases to my top thirty tracks of the year, which you can listen to here or on the embedded player, and check out a few words on each track below!

BE GOOD - It's Cool but It Ain't You

My favourite tune from the Oxford band that have quickly become one of my favourite discoveries of the year!

Everything Everything - Run The Numbers

It was difficult to pick just one track from the record A Fever Dream which the band released over Summer and which I'm almost certain is my favourite record of the year...

Banfi - Rosedale House

Again, whittling down the Banfi repertoire to just one tune when I've fallen in love with every track they've released so far was tricky but this is a favourite of mine.

Flyte - Faithless

In the run up to the release of the band's debut album The Loved Ones back in August I stumbled across this stunning Sofar Sounds session of the opening track Faithless and was taken aback by the songwriting and beautiful harmonies.

Ady Suleiman - I Remember

I love Ady's unique vocals and the beautifully nostalgic lyrics of this track - he's recently announced that his debut album is due in March and I can't wait to hear it!

Evergreen - Aux Echos

With a subtle name change under their belt, Evergreen followed up their superb 2014 record Towards with a new EP of tunes a month or so ago - Aux Echos is the lead single and I'm totally loving it! 

Johnny Flynn - Barleycorn

The follow-up to 2013's Country Mile, new record Sillion is pretty brilliant and this tune quickly became one of my favourites of Johnny and his band The Sussex Wit!

Low Island - (Pause)

Unless you've avoided all of my blog posts and playlist updates for the year, it'll be pretty obvious to you that I'm quite fond of Low Island and believe that you all should be too. This is my favourite tune from their In This Room EP, released earlier this year.

Lewis Capaldi - Bruises

A beautifully raw track with an intensely powerful and emotive vocal, since the release of this stunning debut single back in March it seems that Lewis has been on an incredibly steep trajectory, selling out runs of UK shows in hours!

Brasstronaut - Raveshadow

I think that a lot of us owe Stornoway a great debt for getting these guys across from Vancouver to support them on their farewell tour earlier in the year - I instantly fell in love with their self-titled album which was released earlier in the year, particularly this tune!

Public Service Broadcasting - Progress
I distinctly remember my first listen of this tune while writing a section of my dissertation in my university kitchen, followed by replaying it several times for the rest of the day. It's taken from their recent record Every Valley which is one of my favourites of the year.

Sivu - Lonesome
Another exciting return this year from Sivu, following up his beautiful debut Something On High with Sweet Sweet Silent - well worth a listen!

Parcels - Overnight
I couldn't shake this song from my head once I'd make it our 'track of the week' over on the Tigmus blog back in June - it's produced by Daft Punk and is a total tune!

Seramic - Trying
Marcus Foster and co released the follow up to last year's Found EP in the shape of the I Got You EP this year - it's full of cracking tunes and I adore the closing track, which they performed in one of my favourite live sets of the year at Bushstock Festival (watch that here.)

Fleet Foxes - I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar
The band's show at O2 Brixton in November was nothing short of magical - this is the opening tune to their massively acclaimed new record Crack-Up.

Dan Croll - Tokyo
Following up the brilliant record Sweet Disarray, Dan Croll returned this Summer with Emerging Adulthood. I was torn between adding this track or Bad Boy to the playlist as I'm almost equally fond of them both, but remember completely loving this tune when I caught him at a Communion showcase earlier in the year.

Charlie Cunningham - Minimum

Another discovery I've made as a Stornoway support act (back in 2015) I was blown away by Charlie's skills with the guitar. Minimum is taken from his debut album which was released earlier in the year!

Get Inuit - Barbiturates
The first track to be added to my yearly playlist - love this fun Vevo Dscvr session from the Kent based band.

Willie J Healey - People and Their Dogs
Willie's show at Oxford's Modern Art gallery comes in as one of my favourites of the year as it marked the end of my three years at university, having handed in my final assignment earlier that day. Celebrations after the gig included hanging around with the band and Robin and Cat of Catgod at a pizza truck. Rock and roll.

Nick Mulvey - Mountain To Move
What a joy to have Nick Mulvey back in our lives and our headphones - his headline set at Bushstock Festival was a total joy to behold and one of my favourite crowds to be a part of this year!

Tempesst - Feel Better
Taken from their recent Adult Wonderland EP I love this smooth and summery tune from Tempesst - still gutted that I missed their recent headline shows!

Pale Seas - My Own Mind
Favourite tune from Stargazing for Beginners, the debut album from this Southampton four-piece!

FIL BO RIVA - Head Sonata (Love Control)

I was chuffed to catch Fil at The Great Escape back in May and can't wait for his debut album, set for a release early next year to coincide with a UK and Europe tour in April and May.

Catgod - I'm Innocent
From their Someone Love EP - I can't wait to be reunited with my Oxford pals Catgod at their London gig this week!

Park Hotel - Going West
I don't always find the time to check out tracks that are submitted to the blog for sharing/reviewing but was really glad I listened to this one which quickly became one of my favourite tunes of the year!

Lucy Rose - No Good At All
Taken from her record Something's Changing, for which Lucy Rose released an eye opening mini-documentary of the same name about her music, her fans and playing around the world to fans she's met online.

Dazy Crown - Peanut Butter Dreaming
A band I had the pleasure of working with on some shows back in 2016 for Tigmus, I love this tune from their I Don't Need a Jacket EP.

Cosmo Sheldrake - Come Along
Cosmo played what was probably my favourite support set of the year opening up for Johnny Flynn at the Roundhouse. His effortless control of the room and his introduction to various unique samples completely drew me in.

Charlie Fink - I Was Born to Be a Cowboy
After meeting the rest of the Noah & The Whale members several times over the last couple of years, I finally met Charlie this year as he released his solo record and performed it as a unique live music stage production at the Old Vic in London. 

Arcade Fire - Creature Comfort
I almost want to admit featuring this tune simply because the title makes me think of the hilarious Creature Comforts animated TV show - but it's also a cracking tune from the band's new record Everything Now.

WATCH: BE GOOD - 'Nightbus'

Following up their debut tune Not Waking Up and the recent (and totally smooth) It's Cool but It Ain't You, BE GOOD are back with Nightbus and Hazelnut, two new tunes which they're releasing through the Communion Singles Club. As an Oxford band I've got a soft spot for them which has only increased with the new video for Nightbus, featuring some familiar parts of the city which I love and miss terribly - most notably The Library music venue on Cowley Road, where I booked my first gig with Little Mammoths almost two years ago! The video premiered recently on The Independent, with the band telling them in a Q&A that the rest of the year involves recording for an EP release early next year - I'm very pleased to hear that! 

You can catch the band in London at the end of the month (30th) supporting Cousin Kula at Servant Jazz Quarters, or if you're in Oxford, they're headlining at The Cellar for Future Perfect alongside Magique on December 14th.  

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LISTEN: BE GOOD - 'Not Waking Up'

Some new music for your Friday - the debut single from BE GOOD, Oxford 'woozy lofi soulsters' (no idea either but the tune is cool) who recently opened up for Kagoule and Jaws at the Bully. Inspired by the feeling of disconnection and renewal after a new year's party, in the track's premiere on sonofmarketing the vocalist Ash Cooke describes the track as "basically a woozy party anthem for the sleep-deprived".

Give the band a like on Facebook to keep up to date with future shows and releases!